Read the full transcript from ILB Jordyn Brooks' media availability on July 28, 2026.

I wanted to know what this time of year symbolizes to you. I mean, everlasting hope, endless possibilities, optimism – what does this represent to you?

Jordyn Brooks: The start of a new season. Shoot, football coming back, it's an exciting time of the year. It's always kind of like that dead period where there was no sports going on, so everybody's excited to watch football. We're excited to be back, so it's always a good time of year.

Jon-Eric Sullivan said we're going to resign De'Von Achane, we're going to resign Aaron Brewer, we're going to resign you, and then he pulls off all three. For a GM, especially in his first year, to say something and then follow it up with that action, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the locker room?

Jordyn Brooks: Hopefully it sent the right message. Jon-Eric coming in, being a man of his word, getting business handled – for me, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to still be here. I feel like it's unfinished business here in Miami for me personally, and so I'm excited for the opportunity to continue my career here. Also excited for Achane and 'Brew,' for them to have the same opportunity as I do. We take on the challenge to lead this team and do the very best that we can to help us win football games.

Aside from the unfinished business what is it about this program that made you want to come back and be here long term?

Jordyn Brooks: The relationships I built here, my teammates obviously, and just the fact that we haven't accomplished what we've wanted to accomplish. So that's the unfinished business that we haven't won our division yet. We haven't made a playoff game, we haven't won a playoff game. We haven't made it to Super Bowl, we haven't won a Super Bowl. So it's a lot of goals that we're trying to reach, so that's the goal each and every day showing up here.

But for a veteran like you, why would you embrace being part of the rebuild?

Jordyn Brooks: I mean people could say it's a rebuild, I don't look at it as a rebuild because I'm in it and I play the game. I realize being in the league, everybody is super talented, and it's not always what it looks like on paper. You can have the superstar-studded teams and they don't be worth a darn, you know what I mean? They don't have the right chemistry. They don't know how to connect the dots together. And then you can have a bunch of no-name teams who know how to gel together, who know how to win, know how to buy in together. I think if you have that, you have the perfect team. That's the way I'm looking at it. I don't really care if people think that it's a rebuild or they think we're going 0-17 or whatever people have been saying; I look at it as we got a bunch of football players who's hungry, super talented. Nobody in this locker room would be here if they didn't have what it takes. My goal is to help lead the charge, be the very best that I can be and help us win.

With that being said, the 13 draftees and free agents and the new coaches, as a veteran and a leader here, how do you instill a message and what message do you want to instill in this group to bring them all together here?

Jordyn Brooks: Yeah, just show up and work. I mean, there's really no other reason for us to be here other than to work and work together and have fun as we do it. Enjoy each other's company, get to know each other, and really put the time in, and do whatever it takes to win. And that's showing up every day being consistent. If there's something extra we need to do as a group, we'll do that, whatever it takes. But that's the biggest thing that I want the locker room to understand is we're doing whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes to change the narrative around here, whatever it takes to turn the page over. That's the path that I'm taking.

Coach Hafley mentioned that at some point this summer, they expect to have live tackling, of course, within the rules. How do you feel about that?

Jordyn Brooks: I love it, I love it. I think the only way you can get better at tackling is to tackle. It's hard trying to get your feet ready and get that work in the first game of the season. It's always pros and cons to these situations. Some teams want to take care of guys and don't want to get people hurt. So you don't get those real tackling reps. So the first time you tackle is the first game of the season. It might end up good, might end up bad, but I think it's great. I don't believe in trying to be too careful. The game is the game. If you get hurt. It was meant to be I guess. So the live reps I think is going to be huge for us. Get practice going, get the juice going and shoot, just go hit somebody. It'll be fun.

A lot of one-year deals on this roster. As a leader, how do you get guys to buy into the overall game plan amidst players really fighting for their NFL futures?

Jordyn Brooks: The biggest thing is one, to lead by example. To get somebody to buy in, you have to be bought in. So I got to make sure I'm bought in every day that I come up here because the guys will see that, and then whatever I say after that, it'll make sense to what I'm saying because I'm doing it. And so that's the biggest thing is to do it. And let people see that you are bought in and hopefully they follow suit. But like you said, guys being on one-year deals, I think that should be enough to motivate you. Knowing that your future is uncertain and everybody's future is uncertain when you walk in this building, and so that should be enough to motivate you to go hard every day and give you the best that you got.

What's your early impression of Sullivan and Hafley and the culture they're building here to lead to that by him that you're talking about for yourself?

Jordyn Brooks: I love it, man. They just come in and work, put their head down. They didn't come in with a loud entrance. They didn't, try to make themselves bigger than anything. They just came in ready to work. That's the best thing I can say really. Right away Haf was pretty clear in what he expected from us personally and as a team. Same thing with Jon-Eric. And so I appreciate the way that they've come in and excited to work with them and help them to help us be successful.

You said at one point during the offseason, you weren't totally sure you'd be getting an extension done. When did you become confident that it was going to happen? Was there a point where you were bracing yourself to play your final year of the contract?

Jordyn Brooks: Yeah, I mean, you never know in these situations. It can always go either way. Truthfully, the whole time I really wasn't too concerned about it, purposely, just trying to focus on football and letting the business side take care of itself. And so I just stayed patient. And if it worked out, it did. If it didn't, then I'd still be here, you know what I mean? And so, I'm grateful that it worked out and now we just focus on football and winning football games.

Hafley mentioned you and Jacob Rodriguez, spent some time working together during the break. Just what was that experience like and why did you decide, aside from the obvious Texas Tech connection, why did you decide to take him in?

Jordyn Brooks: I think it's just something that happened naturally. Any time I can spend some time with any of my teammates outside of the building, I'm always up for it. And just like myself, we didn't have too much going on outside of this, and so we just decided to get some work in, train together, hang out a little bit. Him and a couple other guys as well. (Dante) Trader, Jackson Woodard, spent a lot of time in the offseason training and pushing each other, helping each other get better and just hanging out.

We've seen a couple linebackers, Lavonte David, Demario Davis, play some of their best ball into their mid-to-late thirties. Does that motivate you at all, to like, take another step in your career, and how do you make sure that the next part of your career is the best part of your career?

Jordyn Brooks: Yeah, those guys are very inspirational to me. I think Demario's 37. Bobby Wagner is 36, still playing at a high level. And then Lavonte just retired but was still playing at a high level. Those guys encourage me whenever I get down there in age and you can still play this game at a high level. And so it's motivating for me to see, as well as other linebackers in the league that you can stretch this thing out for as long as you want and so happy for those guys. I hope they continue to push it. That's where I'm trying to get to.

What's your impression of what Coach Hafley is asking of the players for this training camp?

Jordyn Brooks: I think his idea is he wants us to be a tough, hardworking football team. A smart football team. Gritty. I think that's his mentality. I think that's who he is as a person. And so that's kind of what comes off and that's right up my alley. I think that I wouldn't want to be a part of any other team – a tough, gritty, hardworking football team that wins games the right way. I think his message and what he expects from us has been great.

What would you consider a successful season for this team, and is the season record going to be the final determining factor of whether the season is success?

Jordyn Brooks: Success is subjective, it's subjective. And you know, I'm a man of faith. So I believe, just being here, already we're successful. There's a lot of guys that I've grown up playing with that didn't have these opportunities that we have right now. And so whether we win or we lose, we're successful because we're here. In football terms, I think what will make us successful, it's winning our division, owning our division and getting a playoff berth. Winning playoff games, making it to the Super Bowl. Doing the things that nobody here thinks we can do and so, in my opinion, that's what will make us successful.

Difficult to answer, but I read your story that you did with Ty Dunne, I think last week or a few days ago. How do you get a team to play for one another? How do you get offense to care about and play for guys on the other side of the ball and vice versa?

Jordyn Brooks: I think you got to have total buy in. And the truth is, when you got so many guys on one team – I don't know how we got like, let's just say it's 100 people on the team – 100 people being bought in is not realistic. Some people have other interests. So, again 100% buy in is not realistic for any industry, organization, any team. But I think if you can have the majority bought in, I think that is what's going to help us to get over that hump. And I think the way that we do that is having our leaders at each position, leading, you know what I mean? Leading in every way on and off the field, because I think they tie into both. Who you are outside of the building ties into who you are on the field. I think that our leaders on this team we've got to be great in the way that we lead. And then everybody else follows suit and we turn this thing over.